Page 40 of The SEAL's Runaway

Grace.

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Grace woke and stretched. The sound of running water teased the edges of her hearing. Sunlight splashed happy colors on the walls, but she was alone. Her hand drifted across the expanse of rumpled bed, seeking the solid warmth of Caleb’s presence, but found only cooling emptiness. He was already up.

She pushed back the sheets, trying to bite back the disappointment that he wasn’t with her. Did he regret the closeness with her last night? Was that why he’d got up early before she woke? So there wouldn’t be any awkward conversation?

She reached over to the bedside cabinet where Caleb had placed the water carafe the night before. She drank deeply, the cool liquid helping to clear the cobwebs from her mind.

The sound of the shower continued, a steady rush of water against tile that beckoned her closer. She finished her water, glancing up to where the bathroom was.

What am I doing?

She hesitated outside the bathroom door, her bottom lip caught between her teeth as she tried to ignore the images in her mind.

Caleb. Naked. Rivulets of water tracing the contours of his muscled form.

Desire, hot and urgent, loosed deep in her belly, a searing ache that made her breath catch in her throat. For so long, she had suppressed her own wants and needs, molding herself to fit Richard’s desires. But now, her testimony in court looming and the future uncertain, she wanted to take this moment for herself. To choose her own path, her own pleasure, even if only for a stolen moment in time.

Just for once in her life, she wanted to choose for herself, and she chose Caleb.

The man who made her feel cherished, protected, and alive. The man who set her blood on fire with a single smoldering glance, who could unravel her with the barest brush of his fingertips against her skin. Her heart ran a wild, reckless rhythm.

Do it.

She reached for the doorknob, the metal cold beneath her palm, and opened the door.

Steamy air enveloped her.

Caleb’s broad back faced her as he leaned, one hand splayed on the tiles. Her gaze ate up every delectable inch of him as water cascaded over his muscled shoulders and powerful thighs. Everything about him was perfection—a living embodiment of raw, primal beauty.

A soft gasp escaped him and he shifted, turning toward her a little. He held his cock, hard and thick, in his fist, the flesh dark with arousal.

Hell.

Her heart stuttered to a halt.

Heat exploded through her body before her heart restarted in overdrive. She should leave, grant him this private moment, but her feet remained rooted to the floor, her eyes wide and hungry as he pleasured himself.

“Grace.” Her name fell from his lips like a prayer, a broken moan that made her burn in places she’d long thought dead. Still unaware of her presence, Caleb pumped his cock with brutal strokes, the cords of his neck straining with the force of his need. Water cascaded over him, the trail of hair leading from his navel glistening like a path of temptation.

She stumbled backward, her legs unsteady as the heat of her own arousal threatened to consume her. Her backside collided with the door, the sudden click of the latch too loud.

Caleb’s head snapped around. His gaze locked onto her, blazing with a raw hunger. A low, animalistic growl rumbled from deep in his chest, the sound vibrating through her like a physical touch.

This was it. The universe was offering her a choice.

It was now or never.

Now. I choose now.

She held his stare, her chin lifted.

With a boldness she hadn’t known she possessed, she crossed the space between them, painfully aware she was wearing only panties under her pajamas. His eyes darkened to smoldering coal as she drew near, his lips parting as he drank her in. She stepped into the shower, the hot spray beating down on her sensitized skin. In an instant, the water drenched her clothes, the soaked fabric clinging to her curves, every inch of her greedy for his touch.

With deliberate slowness, she peeled the top over her head, reveling in the way his eyes widened, his pupils eclipsing his irises. She tossed the garment aside, stepped out of the shorts, baring herself to his heated gaze. She’d wanted nothing as much as she wanted this man, and she wanted him now.

“Grace.” His voice was a hoarse whisper. “This can’t happen. You’re vulnerable right now, so much has?—”